42
8 DAYSMOVIES BY DOUGLAS TSENG
Paddington 2^ (PG)
STARRING Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant DIRECTED BY Paul KingIn this insanely likeable sequel
to the 2014 surprise hit,
Paddington, the duffel coat-wearing,
marmalade-loving Paddington Bear
(again voiced by Ben Whishaw) is
back for more shenanigans, this
time involving a magical pop-up
book. The latter, a present Padds
has been saving up to buy for his
Aunt Lucy’s 100th birthday, turns
out to be a treasure map coveted by
Hugh Grant’s scene-jacking baddie,
Phoenix Buchanan, a has-been thea-
tre thesp-turned-dog food spokes-
man. Phoenix steals the book and
pins the crime on Paddington, who’s
then sentenced to jail. Paddington
behind bars? That went dark real
fast. Not really, the movie is still
a lark. The prison sequences —
including an inventive break out
— are lifted from Wes Anderson’s
playbook, more mischievous thanBad to the bone:
Hugh Grant as
Phoenix Buchanan,
an over-the-hill
theatre actor-
turned over-the-
top villain.
menacing. Like its predecessor,
Paddington 2 is goofy, picturesque,
endearing, hopeful, and infused
with a timely message about
inclusivity and acceptance; you’d
have to be incurably cynical notto embrace it with
open arms. In other
words: I’d rather sit through Pad-
dington 2 than Daddy’s Home 2.RATING